Red Heart
by aca-avenger
Summary: The sequel to "Time Of Your Life". Callie and Arizona balance work and parenting, while Rory's relationship with Jess grows stronger in the face of adversity,and Mark tries to right a wrong and find love.
1. All At Once

Hey guys, this is the sequel for my story 'Time of Your Life' which focuses on the original characters of Callie and Arizona's kids Mark and Rory but will you get Calzona moments here and there of course. This chapter takes place in _Rory's _and Mark's point of view. I'm sorry my hiatus was longer than planned! I hope you guys enjoy! =D

Prologue. All At Once

"Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.  
Maybe you want her, maybe you need her."  
- All At Once, The Fray

"_What's with the frown, sad sack?" Matt asks as he takes his seat next to me at our usual lunch table._

"_Sorry, what?" I ask, coming out of my daze; I had been staring off in to the distance towards Mark's lunch table._

"_I asked what was with you. You've been frowning all darn day." He replies with a look of concerned._

"_My brother hasn't spoken to me in over two weeks besides for in front of my parents and Jess hasn't been to school either so I haven't seen her." I reply before taking a bite out of my apple._

"_Why isn't Mark talking to you?" He looks at me curiously, raising his eyebrow slightly._

"_I can't tell you." I take another bite of my apple, hoping he's not going to press the issue._

"_I know that you and Mark aren't exactly two peas in a pod but you are a lot closer than Ollie and I are."_

"_Matt if you're trying to get me to say why he's not talking to me it's not going to work. It's the fact that I said something in the first place that," I pause realizing my mistake. I hang my head and practically slam my apple down on my tray._

"_What did you say?" Matt's curiosity still doesn't waver._

"_I can't tell you." I give him a serious look. "It's the fact that I told someone else that made him so pissed at me that he won't speak to me unless he has to so our parents won't get suspicious."_

"_Okay, I'll let it go." Matt gives me a small smile which I am sure is his form of an apology. "So why hasn't Jess been here all week anyhow?" He asks as he holds out his open bag of chips to offer me some._

"_No thanks. She's at home because her parents thought it would be a good idea for her to help Cam adjust around the house." I can't help but smile now slightly; it was definitely like Jess to help even though it interfered slightly with the rest of her life._

"_Awe, isn't that sweet." Matt gives me a smirk._

"_It is actually." I give him a sweet smile before grabbing a chip from his hand._

"_Hey! Did I say you could have that?" He gives me a fake look of shock._

"_No, but you offered me one of those so it's the same thing." I giggle before popping the chip in my mouth._

_As I finish chewing and swallow I notice my brother get up and begin to walk out of the cafeteria. I realize that this has gone on for far too long and I need to say something. "Mark!" I call out across the cafeteria without even thinking much about what his reaction could be. "I'll see you in class." I say quickly to Matt before getting up from the table._

_Mark's eye meet mine for a quick second as he continues to walk out of the cafeteria, but he refuses to even acknowledge me and just keeps walking. "Mark!" I call out to him again, slightly louder this time. _

_He opens the door to leave the cafeteria and quickens his pace. Thankfully my brother has chosen to exit the cafeteria through a door that exits to the outside of the school, to where some would call the quad, which was empty at this time of lunch._

"_Mark, come on. You've got to talk to me some time, and why can't some time be now?" I ask curiously as I get closer to him; close enough to know that there's no way he can't hear me. Yet he still doesn't reply. "Mark, I know you can hear me!" I raise my voice even louder now because my frustration is starting to become apparent._

"_What do you want me to say, Rory?" He snaps as he stops suddenly, turning around to look me in the eye. "What?"_

* * *

Rory gives me a look of shock mixed with guilt as she just stares at me after I finally snapped.

"I-I" She tries to speak but stutters over her first word. "I'm sorry, okay. I didn't realize that it was such a big deal that I told Jess. She doesn't even know Emma so it's not like she'd ever know. But obviously that was extremely naïve of me. I understand that you love Emma but if you don't tell her soon you're never going to get the chance to because you guys will graduating before you know it and going of to university. I'm sorry that if me telling Jess about it makes it more real to you but you've got to tell her or just let it go, Mark."

I listen to my sister words and she hasn't hit the nail straight on the head but she's somewhat right; in a normal situation unlike my own they would make sense and I'd actually do what she suggests. But unfortunately life isn't that easy.

"Rory just leave me alone okay. This isn't your problem, it's mine. I shouldn't have even told you, so just leave me alone." I growl, giving her a look of slight revulsion in attempt to get her to go away.

"I'll leave you alone." My sister sighs, hanging her head slightly for a moment. I turn around and begin to walk away, having achieving my goal. "But promise me you'll listen to what Mom told us when Grandpa died. Live valiantly so that you have no regrets, Mark, live valiantly."

Her words enter my conscious causing my stomach to turn into a ball full of knots. My sister has no idea how her words are causing my guilt to swell and crash in to me like a tidal wave; shaking me to my very core. It makes me feel as if every inch of me is about to explode. It's all because sometimes the right thing is also the hardest thing, and there's nothing you can do to change that. So I keep walking, because walking is the only thing I can do.

* * *

"Damn it!" I pull my gym locker door open with such force that it creates a severely loud bang as it slams into the door of a neighbouring locker.

I thought that running laps and taking some shots would clear my head and release my anger; but it just proceeded to make it worse. Instead of clearing my head of everything but soccer, it gave me time to think of everything but.

I glance to my right at the small mirror on the inside of my locker door; cracks grace the surface causing it to appear to be on the edge of breaking. Staring at my cracked reflection I notice the slight bruise still remaining on the edge of my jaw.

"Mark?" a familiar, surprised voice echoes through the locker room.

I glance to upper right corner of the mirror to find Jude's face. "Uh, hey." is the only words that are able to come out of my mouth.

"Are," he pauses and hesitantly begins to walk towards me. "Are you okay? Or,"

I don't let him finish his last sentence before I cut in, "I'm fine." I spit out, probably faster than I would usually in normal conversation; but it was obvious this wasn't going to be a normal conversation.

"Are you sure, because it's okay if you're not?" I can tell by Jude's tone that he's being sincere but is slightly uncertain what to say.

"I'm not sure." I say, my voice probably muffled due to me pulling off my jersey.

"Uh, well do you want to talk about it?"

"Since when did you become such a girl?" I chuckle trying to lighten the mood, and of course avoid this conversation.

"Since my cousin seemed to be having a bit of a rough time." He smirks as he attempts to get me back on topic.

"I got in a fight at soccer a few weeks ago and Emma was there." My voice is now quieter, barely above a whisper.

"And?" He looks at me; his facial expression proves he was more than slightly confused.

"And I think I scared her and she might be afraid of me now." My tone is now ringing with hesitance and slight embarrassment.

"And Emma is who again?" Jude raises his eyebrow slightly in an obvious attempt to get me to open up more.

"She's Chris Sheppard's younger sister. She's in your American History class, talks pretty rarely, has reddish brown hair, sits two" I stop in the middle of my sentence.

I was about to continue on with my description but I notice the confused look on Jude's face has been replaced by a wide grin.

"What's so funny?" I glare slightly causing Jude to chuckle.

"You like her don't you?" Jude's smirk doesn't diminish as he speaks.

"Your point?" I say as I mentally curse my inheritance of the Robbins rosy cheeks under embarrassment as I feel blood beginning to warm my face.

"My point is that you like her, and she obviously doesn't know it. Why haven't you told her? She seems like a nice girl who wouldn't be opposed to going out on a date with a nice boy who happens to pretty much be a huge soccer star. So, why don't you, huh?" His voice is almost coated completely in playful mockery.

"It's not that easy, Jude." My tone is now completely serious and my stomach begins to turn to knots as I throw on my red Manchester United long sleeve tee.

As my head pops up through the neck hole I find that Jude's facial expression has completely changed; the imprint of a classic Robbins smirk is gone and a look of slight concern and seriousness is now gracing his face.

"Well sometimes the right thing to do is hard but that doesn't mean it isn't right all the same." He pauses for a moment as if to let his words sink into my brain. "Just tell her. It might help, and it sure as hell can't hurt. Am I correct?"

* * *

_Whatever idiot came with the idea of last period study hall being mandatory for graduating students was officially on the top of people I'd like to pie in the face list._

_I have been sitting in the school library being lazily watched occasionally by the librarian for almost an hour and a half. My biology text book and notes are spread across the table making it look like I am deep into my studies but in reality my mind is nowhere near it._

_My mind is focused on the details of the picture my hand is skilfully forming on the page in front of me; every detail, every unique stroke and contour. This picture is the only thing that is keeping my mind from wandering to places I don't want it to go._

"_Boo!" An extremely memorable voice enters my conscious causing me to jump slightly and drop my pencil. _

"_What are you doing here?" I ask closing my drawing pad before picking up my pencil and tossing both lightly on the table._

"_Why? Can't I come and see my very beautiful girlfriend who I haven't seen for almost an entire week?" Jess giggles slightly before giving me a quick kiss on the cheek._

"_I missed you." I whisper, trying not to draw attention to us. Jess had official become my girlfriend a little over a week ago and we hadn't come close to nearing the limits of what was acceptable by the school's faculty by any means, keeping the PDA to a bare minimal._

"_So how was your day?" She replies as she takes a seat next to me on the bench._

"_You don't even want to know." I want to avoid this conversation as much as possible because Jess has lightened my mood, making me happier than I have been all week._

"_Still having Mark trouble?" She moves slightly closer so that her leg is against mine causing butterflies to flutter in my stomach; even after two weeks that still hadn't gone away at simple touches._

"_I tried to force him to talk to me, it was near impossible to get him to speak. Even when he did speak he spoke less than ten sentences to me." My voice is starting to go gravelly and my eyes are beginning to get watery._

"_Hey, it's okay." Jess gently brushes my hair out of my face, tucking it carefully behind my ears. "He'll come around. It just takes time. I know it's been two weeks but sometimes forgiving someone is hard and it takes time."_

"_I know, but it's hard." I can't help but sniffle. "It's all practically all I can think about. I can't study." I motion to the biology books on the table. "I can't do anything that reminds me of my brother. I just can't do anything."_

"_But you're drawing right? That's something." Jess gives me a smirk, before hesitantly reaching out for my drawing notebook. "May I?" She asks, taking my feelings into consideration._

_I can feel the blush beginning to cross my cheeks out of embarrassment. "Sure." My voice is very quiet now out of nervousness because I don't know what Jess' reaction will be when she opens the notebook to where I was drawing minutes before._

"_Oh my god," As she flips open the notebook the smile on her face disappears and is replaced by a look of complete shock and awe. "Rory, how, what?" Jess attempts at speaking but is left temporarily speechless._

_The page displays a close up portrait of Jess. I had drawn a detailed picture of her beautiful face to keep me from making myself go crazy, to keep me grounded. It was as if I was the balloon and she was the string, keeping me safe from floating off into the empty, cruel wilderness._

"_You were the only thing I could keep my mind focused on." I say bashfully, "You were the only thing that helped me feel better, even when you weren't here."_

"_I'm sorry about that. I wish I had been here. I'm so-" I don't let finish her sentence because she's wrong._

"_There's no need to be sorry. I know you wanted to be here but you're brother came home from the hospital and that is a big thing. So I understand, if you had shown up to school instead of helping your brother I would have sent to you back home because it was where you were supposed to be. Cam's a strong guy but that doesn't mean your little brother doesn't need you." I give her a reassuring smile, as I feel the tears that were slowly welling up in my eyes begins to roll down my cheek._

"_And you need me, so I" Jess says before I cut her off once again._

"_And you're here now. That's what matters." _

"_And I'm not going anywhere." Jess lays the open notebook back on the table before wrapping her arm around me and wiping the tears tenderly from my cheeks. "I belong right here with you." _

_As Jess gently puts her forehead against mine I can't help but think that she's right. I've never felt so calm and excited all at once with someone like this before. I could honestly say right now that I'm glad I gave into the fear and took the plunge. Because as scary as it seems there's a great chance she may be right; maybe I do need her._

* * *

"No, Jude. You're not correct." I resist the urge to slam my locker door shut, but I shut it carefully in an attempt to not fully break the small mirror on the locker door.

"Then why? Why am I not correct?" The seriousness in his voice never diminishes.

"Because if you knew what I knew and caused what I caused," I can't even bring myself to finish my sentence.

My eyes meet with Jude's and nothing else is said. We stand there for a moment, with every second the knots in my stomach become tighter and tighter until I can't take it any more. Unable to deal with it any longer I turn on my heels and begin to walk out of the locker room, leaving my cousin's shocked face behind hoping I won't go through this same routine once again at home.


	2. That Girl

I'm hoping you guys enjoyed the prologue and it was enough to get you guys hooked! This chapter is written from _Rory's_, Mark's, and **Callie's** perspective; hopefully that doesn't get to confusing. I hope you guys enjoy (Y)

As always I have no medical knowledge because unfortunately I'm not a doctor; all medical information should not be taken as completely factual.

One. That Girl

"I know it's wrong for me to say,  
I don't need that girl by my side; I don't need that girl in my life."  
- That Girl, David Choi

"**What's up, buttercup?" Arizona's cheery voice enters my conscious as she lies down on the on-call room bed with me.**

"**I was," I emphasize the word 'was' by pausing for a moment in attempt to get a small rise out of Arizona, "trying to sleep. But no, a certain somebody had to go and wake me up." I say with a slight growl as I roll over so that we are face to face; her beautiful blue eyes looking into mine.**

"**Oh well then," Arizona glares at me slightly; after all these years I can tell that she's only joking. "I guess you're going to have to wait 'til we get home then." She sits up, turning so that her feet are on the floor. **

"**Arizona," I reach my hand out to take hers but she swiftly stands up before I can reach.**

"**Have a nice nap, Calliope." She says as she walks towards the door, reaching out to grab the door handle.**

"**Arizona Robbins, get your cute little ass over here." I say with a small laugh, a wide grin automatically beginning to cross my face.**

"**Why, Calliope, I thought you wanted to sleep?" She says with a giggle before practically bouncing back towards me.**

"**So what would I have had to wait until we got home for?" I ask with a slightly suggestive tone as she lies down next to me once again.**

"**Well, I was thinking." Arizona grins as she wraps her arm around my waist pulling herself closer to me; she then skilfully wraps her leg around my legs, straddling me.**

**Arizona looks at me expectantly for a moment, as if she's waiting for a verbal reply. "Yes, you were thinking." I say, giving her what I'm assuming is what she wants.**

"**I was thinking," She begins to leaner closer to me so that her lips are less than an inch away from my skin, the anticipation nearly killing me. **

"**That." She whispers before placing a kiss atop my jaw line. "We." She places another places another kiss on my skin; this time closer to my pulse point. "Could." **

**Arizona's lips barely get the chance to touch my neck before not one but two of our pagers begin to blare causing Arizona to jump and of course in response bang her head on the bottom of the top bunk. **

"**Ow!" Arizona cries. **

**I wrap my arms around her, carefully pulling her closer so that she is lying on top of me. I gently place a kiss atop her head before pulling away with a small smile. "That better?"**

"**Yes, thank you." The childlike innocence in Arizona's voice causes the small smile on my face to grow.**

"**I guess I will have to wait until we get home then, won't I?" I laugh before placing a quick kiss on Arizona's lips as I reach out for both of our pagers which are on the small table at the top of the bed.**

**As I hand Arizona hers she carefully rolls off me so that she is on the edge of the mattress. "Crud! It's a 911 from the pit." She jumps of the bed, stepping into her Heelys and heads for the door.**

**I glance down at my own pager to realize that I have the exact same message. "Looks like I'll see you down there." I say as I rush to get out of the bed, throwing back the covers. **

"**I love you, Calliope." is the last thing I hear before the door shuts quietly behind Arizona as she exits the on call room.**

**I can't help but hope that this page doesn't ruin the rest of my day because usually when Arizona and I are paged 911 for the ER at once, it never leads to anything good.**

* * *

"_Rory?" A familiar voice obviously full of shock and confusion comes from the end of the stack of books to our right._

_I can hear Jess' breath hitch, almost as if in fear, as she pulls away from me; looking behind me into the face of the person who spoke. Jess opens her mouth as if to speak but almost immediately closes her mouth again; it is either out of fear or complete loss of words. I slowly turn around to face them, placing a steady and hopefully comforting hand on Jess' knee in attempt to help her relax. _

"_Hey, how did you find that Spanish test afterwards?" I ask in an attempt to delay and avoid the awkwardness and possible freak out that is about to come. _

"_It was okay, I suppose." They reply with hesitance, their eyes never leaving Jess' face._

_I can't help but scoot closer to her an attempt to protect her even though I fully well know that it's highly likely it will do nothing. "I could get Ma to help you later if you want, or I could help you? I'm pretty much as fluent as she is now." I let out a nervous fake chuckle._

_By the look on their face I can tell their response isn't going to have anything to do with Spanish at all. "You, you two," They pause, trying to come up with right words to say. "You're."_

_I know very well they're not going to be able to finish their sentence so I finish it for them. "Yes, we're together. I'm gay and I really hope that you accept that. I don't like to show it off because it's not the most important part of me, it's just one of the things that makes me who I am. Please understand that. Please, Molly." _

_It is only after I finish speaking I notice my hands are shaking as Jess takes my hand in hers. I also notice that there are slight tear beginning to form in my eyes and my mouth becoming somewhat dry but I blink them away and force myself to swallow. This all allows my body to return to its homeostatic state._

_After a few moments of silence from Molly Jess cuts into the conversation. "Molly? I know you're probably in shock right now but we were planning on telling you and everyone else soon. We haven't been sneaking around it's just that we haven't been very public our relationship because we wanted to find our footing first. You get that don't you?" Jess' voice is surprisingly calm and steady, unlike my current mental state._

"_I- I have to go." Molly's words stumble out of her mouth quickly before she swiftly turns on her heels and leaves us behind._

"_Molly!" I call out to her with a slightly raised voice is just quite enough for me to not be yelled at by the librarian. _

_With every step away Molly takes, Jess' hold on my hand tightens. "I'm sorry." She says as she puts her arm behind me, placing her hand on the bench so that my body is against her shoulder. No matter how much I want to I can't bring myself to lean into her._

_My mind begins to go around in circles unable to come with a specific reason why Jess would be sorry for something. "Why would you need to be sorry?"_

* * *

"Hey Emma!" I give her a classic Robbins dimpled smile. "You finding the party okay?" I ask trying to make polite conversation, fully well knowing that she wasn't a partier or drinker; the only reason why she came to these things was because of Damian, her boyfriend and one of the guys on the team who I was closest to.

Emma Sheppard was the girl from those teenage movies who was everything; she was beautiful, smart, and talented. She was the girl that all the boys, and some of the girls for that matter, wished was theirs.

"Yeah, the music's really good! It doesn't have that crap from Eric's party last week. It was like my ears were bleeding!" She yells over the sound of the music that boomed through the house before proceeding to give me a small smile.

We were celebrating our big win over Elliott East with a party at the Sheppard's house. Chris, Emma's older brother, was captain of our team so it was only fitting that the party be held at his house.

"So where's Damian tonight?" I ask, having not seen him once since I got here about an hour ago.

It is then I notice it. At the mentioning of his name I can see her smile falter almost instantly. She brings her hand up to her face, as if to brush away an imaginary hair. As her hand retreats back to her side I become aware of the large discoloured splotches of bruises around her wrist.

Once she begins to speak again her voice is barely audible, "He's," is the only word that comes out of her mouth before almost magically Damian appears at her side.

"There you are. I was asking Emma where you were. I hadn't seen you since I got here." I say trying to keep the conversation light.

While Damian begins to wrap his arm around Emma's waist I can't help but notice the flicker of fear and pain her face as she winces as he tightens his hold on her. "Yeah, I was over playing chutes and ladders with some of the teams. You get it? CHUTES and ladders!"

He starts to laugh at his own joke making him look like an idiot; add the blush on his cheeks and his terribly disturbing breath that was like doing aromatherapy in a distillery confirms my suspicion that's he definitely had more than one too many.

I fake some laughter in order to keep from reacting badly. "That's a good one!" I say, giving Emma a slight look that goes unnoticed by Damian.

She simply just shaking her head quickly, obviously hoping that it goes unnoticed by him as well.

"Well it was nice talking to you!" Damian practically yells in my face. "Come on, woman. I need another drink!"

I don't even get a chance to say goodbye before Damian begins to roughly pull Emma away towards the makeshift bare. But unfortunately I do get the chance to notice the look of fear on Emma's face grow.

The party continues on without any sort of interesting activity besides for the bunch of idiotic cheerleaders who decide to attempt chugging a small keg but end up retching it all up over the basement apartment kitchen floor.

As I walk through the hallway on the main floor of the Sheppard house I'm being slowly brought of my almost trance like state in attempt to avoid any one who was intoxicated unlike myself.

"Mark!" A recognizable voice calls out from no where. "Mark!"

Almost as if someone else is controlling my body I ignore the calls of my name, and for some reason I can't shake the guilty feeling for continuing walk on.

* * *

"Mark!" My geography teacher's voice slowly enters my conscious. "Mr. Robbins!"

My eyes now fly open to reveal my geography teach standing less than three feet in front of me. "Sorry, Ms. Schneider." My voice is gravelly as I reply.

"So where was I," She gives me a slightly stern look before continuing. "The Appalachians are,"

The rest of Ms. Schneider's words don't enter my conscious even though I can clearly see her lips moving. My mind is to busy, racing through my reoccurring dream that unfortunately isn't any more than a dream than Ms. Schneider's words to me a moment ago.

My palms are clammy and my heart in my chest is beating faster than the normal range. But this wasn't new. No, even slightly old habits die hard.

* * *

"**What do you have for me, Davidson?" I ask the fourth year resident who was assigned to run the ER today.**

"**Both of you," He motions to both Arizona who is currently walking into one of the trauma rooms and me, "are in trauma two. Dr. Robbins has the chart already."**

"**Thank you." I say quickly before practically sprinting over to trauma two.**

"**Pete you're going to have to try and relax for me okay buddy?" Arizona's calm and comforting voice echoes through the trauma room as I open the door.**

**I now take notice of our patient who is lying down in front of us as she hands me the chart over the table. His face which is no older than ten is contorted in pain; I can tell how hard he is trying to keep himself from screaming, tears are rolling down his face and his cheeks are flushed.**

**I also become aware of of both of his legs which are badly injured; I can tell that there is one tibia break and his left patella is an utter mess. **

"**Hey Pete," I give him the best smile I can because I know that what I'm about to do is definitely going to hurt. "I'm Dr. Robbins. And-"**

**I don't even get a chance to finish my sentence before Pete cuts me off. "But she's Dr. Robbins." He lifts his hand up slightly and points at Arizona. **

**I take this as a great distraction and try to keep him talking while I inspect his leg wounds more carefully. "That's right. She's Dr. Robbins too." I say as I swiftly throw on a pair of gloves before placing my hand on his tibia.**

**As soon as my hand comes in contact with his skin a strangled cry is release from his mouth. I look up to see that he has pulled his arm up over his mouth in an attempt to muffle his scream. He may only be ten years old but he is stronger than most of my adult patients who bawl like babies over small breaks.**

"**It's okay." Arizona says as she carefully puts his arm back down by his side. "You're brave but that doesn't mean you can't cry. The best of us do. Right, Dr. Robbins?" **

**Arizona looks down at me for a reply. "She's right, Pete. We're going to get you something make you more comfortable though, okay?" I give him another smile hoping it will help him feel better, even if it's in the slightest.**

"**Someone get me four of Pentobarbital." Arizona's voice rings through the trauma room.**

"**Dr. Robbins?" Pete's voice is almost barely comprehendible due to pain obviously shooting through his body. I look up at him for a moment to see if it was me he was speaking to but his eyes were focused on Arizona. **

"**Yes, Pete?"**

"**My," is the only word he his able to get out before screams take over vocal chords. Pete slowly points to his chest, unable to get any more words out.**

"**Your chest hurts?" Arizona asks. **

**He swiftly nods his head prompting Arizona to lift his shirt. Gasps fill the room as a result. I look up to see Arizona's eyes wide in shock. I look down at his chest and to find that they were gasping for good reason.**

* * *

"_I need to be sorry because I'm the reason why that just happened." Jess' whispers in my ear. _

"_No, you're not the reason that happened." I reply, my tone serious and my voice calm._

"_Yes I am. If I had been here all week we could have told her together rather than her finding us like that and practically shocking her to death." I can hear the seriousness in her voice and feel her muscles stiffen. _

"_You would be wrong to say that you caused Molly's reaction. Sure, you caused this. But I like this, I like being us, not just you being Jess and me being Rory. Okay?" I say taking her hand in mine hoping she'll get my point and so I won't have to elaborate any further._

_I immediately feel her hand tense in mine as she begins to speak. "I like being us too, but I don't want there to be an 'us' if it makes you feel the way you do right now. I know I've known you for less than a month Rory but I can tell that you're putting up a front with me right now."_

_She pauses for a moment, allowing her words to fully sink into my mind. I didn't have to think for very long to realize she was right. I wasn't allowing myself to react fully, the way I would I was alone right now. I was trying to hard to be a good man in a storm for that._

'_I'm going to go and let you react the way you want, the way you should, because you're obviously not going to react in front of me." I can hear what I could almost classify as embarrassment in Jess' voice. _

_I can feel her arm graze my lower back as she swiftly stands up. She turns slightly so that she's facing the table as well as me. Jess hesitantly reaches down and picks up my drawing notebook. _

"_It's beautiful by the way. I'm not saying that just because it's me, it truly is." She says before carefully laying it back down on the table once again. "I'll talk to you tonight." Her tone of voice has now almost changed completely. "I'm sorry, Rory." _

_Jess gives me a small sympathetic smile before turning around and beginning to walk away in the same direction Molly had._

"_Stop," I am barely able to reach Jess' hand but I do manage to loosely grab her wrist. "I need you to stop."_

_Jess turns around, a look of confusion on her face. "Stop what?"_

_I take a deep breath because I know I need it because this isn't exactly easy for me to say. "I need to stop saying your sorry." _

"_Bu-" Jess begins to speak but I cut her off without a second thought._

"_No, I need you to stop. I need you to stop because it's wrong for you say you're sorry. And it would be wrong for me to say that I don't need you, because I do. I need you to keep me calm. I need you to keep me freaking out. You told me you weren't going anywhere but if you leave right now I'm going to break down, in the middle of our school's library."_

"_Rory," her earlier tone has now softened._

"_And I'm not going to be able to handle that." Jess looks at me expecting me to continue, but I don't until she takes a step closer to me. "So I need you to stay, or let me come with you. Please?"_

_Jess gives me a comforting smile before taking another few steps closer and kneeling down in front of me. Her voice my not be much louder than a whisper but is stronger than diamond. "I'm not going anywhere, without you."_


	3. Talk You Down

Howdy guys! I'm sorry that this update is late, I was busy all this week and was dealing with a case of writer's block, again -_- This chapter is written from Mark's, _Rory's_, and **Arizona's** point of view. It's partly filler but it is important. I hope you guys enjoy!

Two. Talk You Down  
"I can feel the color running, as it's fading from my face.  
Try to speak but nothings coming…"  
- Talk You Down, The Script

_Entering the house I can't help but smile, Jess' hold on my hand hasn't broken since leaving school except for entering and exiting my car. Every so often I feel her thumb slowly trace figure eights on the back of my hand._

"_So, how about we get ourselves a snack and talk it out?" Jess says with a comforting smile, yet I can hear the hesitance in her voice which leaves me slightly confused._

"_Talk it out?" I give her a look to express my current confusion as we slowly enter the kitchen._

"_Yes, talk it out." The hesitance in her voice is now gone and is replaced by a soft yet affirmative tone which is surprisingly calming. "We are going to sit down and I'm going to do whatever it takes to get your feelings out of you because you really shouldn't bottle things up. I've been there, and it's not pretty when they explode. Believe me."_

_With her words my confusion has been erased and slight panic is written all over my body. "O-okay." I can't help but stutter; she's making me nervous and relaxed all at once._

"_Relax," She wraps her other around my waist so that we are less than an inch apart. "It's okay. We're going to get through this together."_

_I can't help but chuckle now, I look up at her to find her grinning looking straight at me. She goes on her tip toes slightly and places an affectionate kiss on my forehead before giggling herself. "Come on you goof, let's get some food. This day is making me hungry." _

_I can't help but chuckle at Jess' silliness. "Alright, alright. Don't go all Hannibal Lecter on me."_

"_Are you sure you don't want me too?" Jess inches closer to me, "I'd have to say you look pretty appetizing." She says, I can feel her breath on my neck. I don't respond because I can tell that that's what she's looking for. Soon enough I feel Jess' lips against skin, placing a kiss on my neck; slightly nipping as if to continue the joke._

_I look down at her waiting for a reply as she pulls away from me. "And?" I ask after a few moments of receiving no response from her._

"_Not bad." She says with a look of slight disappointment on her face. _

"_Hey!" I playfully slap her on the arm, attempting to get out of her hold. _

_I only make it two steps before she has her hand wrapped around my wrist, turning me around so that I'm look at her once again. She's grinning from ear to ear. "Sorry, I lied." She giggles, "But seriously, I'm starved."_

_I pause for a moment, racking my brain which eventually leads to a smirk crossing my face. "I believe I have an idea."_

* * *

"Mark?" I hear someone calling out to me; it's barely audible over the sound of scrooping and clinking desks and chairs. I look around, trying to see who may have been speaking to me.

"Mr. Robbins?" I am now able to fully hear the voice of my teacher. I turn to my left to find Ms. Schneider leaning back, sitting on the edge of her desk.

I reluctantly pick up my books and walk towards her desk, "Yes."

She looks around the room to back sure it is completely empty before continuing to speak. "Mark, this is the third time this week you've fallen asleep in my class." She pauses to look me in the eye. "And I don't think that it's the material that's boring you to sleep, you haven't been yourself lately. I think you need to talk to somebody. I'm not saying that person has to be me but it has to be somebody, someone you trust. It could be another teacher, a friend, a parent, a sibling," at the word sibling I automatically flinch slightly.

"Ms. Schneider, I-" I don't even get the chance to finish my sentence.

"Mark, if you fall asleep in my class again I'm going to have to bring your parents into this because it's out of my control. So please, do what you need to do and talk to somebody. That's all I ask."

I'm trying to think of what I can respond with but my mind keeps drawing blanks, it is as if someone is coming behind me with an erasing everything I had just thought of. I tighten my hold on my books before simply nodding in response.

I somehow managed to put one foot in front of the other and exit the classroom swiftly; never looking back.

* * *

"_So this is your great idea, huh?" Jess laughs slightly as she takes a seat at the breakfast counter._

"_I never said it was great, you goof. I just said it was an idea." I say, rolling my eyes jokingly as I put the knives down next to her. _

"_Are you sure about that? I could have sworn," She replies, I can tell she's trying to get a rise out of me._

"_Yes, I'm sure." I say chuckling as I take a seat next to her. _

"_Okay, I'll take your word it, this time." She grins._

"_You put your bottom dollar it is. You can never go wrong with a PB sandwich." I grin as I snag the jar of peanut butter out of her hand._

_A look of shock crosses Jess' face. "Oh no you didn't."_

"_Oh yes I did." I giggle before unscrewing the top._

_Our playful banter is interrupted by the sound of the front door slamming. My laughter automatically stops and I look directly at Jess. Her eyes are wide in shock and fear, but they narrow slightly as I take her hand._

_Without thinking fully my mouth reacts before I get a chance to stop myself, "Mark?" _

_I receive no verbal response from him but I can hear his footsteps heavily on the floor getting closer and closer. Jess tightens her hold on my hand as if she's trying to keep me from jumping up out of my seat._

_If I hadn't thought something was wrong before I definitely do as Mark turns the corner entering the kitchen. His eyes are bloodshot and his face is flushed; he is attempting very hard to keep both from being visible but I've learnt how to counter his defensive moves._

"_Hey." He says quietly as he opens the fridge as if everything was completely normal._

"_Mark?" I ask once again as he tucks his head behind the fridge door while he searches through it._

"_Yeah?" He replies, his voice barely audible. _

"_I know that this is because of me but do I have to ask or are you going to tell me?" I say, as soon as the words are out of my mouth I realize how much I sound like my mother. She and Ma definitely had different interrogative styles; she'd always give us a chance to explain ourselves before asking._

_Mark hesitantly pulls his head out of the fridge, he pauses to take a deep breath before turning to look at me. "No, it's not." He says before taking another deep breath, leaving me slightly shocked. "Where do you want me to start?"_

"_Where do you want, to start?" I ask trying to make him more comfortable, knowing that it'll make it more likely he'll tell me the whole story._

"_What do you want to know?" His voice is hesitant yet somehow calm._

"_Everything, everything you can tell me."_

"_I'll talk to you tomorrow okay?" Jess says quickly before placing a quick kiss on my cheek as she hops off her stool._

"_It's okay." Mark's words shock me; to be honest this entire situation shocks me._

_Jess' head quickly turns to Mark. "Are," Jess pauses for a moment almost as if to regain her composure. "Are you sure?"_

"_I'm sure."_

* * *

**Looking down at Pete's chest I can't help but be slightly shocked. His upper torso is reddened and swollen.**

"**I need that pentobarbital now!" I raise my voice slightly just after another wrangled scream escapes Pete's throat. A nurse scurries over and injects him before going back to her original position lower down the table near Calliope. "Thank you." I say, taking a deep breath to try and hold my concentration.**

**After a few moments I can see Pete begin to physically relax. I carefully put my fingers down to feel his chest. Through my gloves I can feel the heat radiating from his skin. This definitely was not a good sign.**

"**Scissors, please." I stick my hand out for a nurse or resident to place a pair in my hand. I could have to cut his shirt off because there was no way we could safely lift him up to pull his shirt off completely.**

**After feeling the cool metal against my glove covered hand I pull Pete's shirt back down carefully so that I am able to cut it easier. As I begin to cut I inspect his skin more closely. It definitely isn't a burn nor was it signalling any breaks. After handing off the scissors I begin to use both hands to apply slight pressure. Once I reach the area between the sternum and ribs I can physically see Pete wince.**

"**Does that make the pain worse, Pete?" I ask calmly in attempt to keep him calm as well.**

**I can tell the sedation is beginning to work because I can tell he's having slight difficulty getting his words out between it and the pain itself. He simply nods before mumbling a word that I can't understand.**

"**Pete? Can you tell me that again?" I say before almost my straining my hearing to hear what he replies as he begins to mumble once again. **

"**Arms."**

**I quickly check his arms but there's no sign of inflammation or swelling. "Okay, after Dr. Robbins is done get him up to CT. Page me immediately when you leave."**

"**I'm going to need get him into surgery before there's any more permanent damage, if I don't fix his patella soon it's possible he'll never walk without crutches." Calliope's voice is firm as she tries to get her point across.**

**I look down at Pete, his eyes are now closed, he looks peaceful; he doesn't deserve to never walk properly again. I avert my eyes to find Calliope's, "Well, we're going to have to get that CT quick. Someone do an ultrasound. I'll meet you in CT." Calliope gives me a nod and a quick half smile before going back to examining Pete's legs. **

"**Does anyone have a history for me?" I ask as I begin to walk towards the trauma room door.**

"**I do." A quiet intern's voice speaks up; her voice is able audible over the rest of the hustle and bustle in the room. I can see that she's not used to this. She's a transfer from OB who showed interest in Pediatric surgery.**

"**Follow me then." I say as I open the trauma room door to enter the ER. I wait for a nod from the young resident before beginning to enter it.**

**She follows me out of the ER to a much quieter, less chaotic hallway. "Here's a copy of his patient history, Dr. Robbins." She says as she attempts to pass me the file while she comes up next to me so that we are walking side by side.**

"**I think better out loud." I say as I shake my head in refusal. "Can you read it out to me, Dr. –" I pause as I realize I'm unable to remember her name even though she's worked on a few of my cases since she came into the program.**

"**Davis, Andy Davis." She replies, her voice is barely above a whisper.**

"**Davis. I like you. You're intelligent, you're good and thorough. But I'm going to give you a piece of advice. And I highly advise you take it."**

**I pause for a moment, making sure she wasn't about to react with high negativity or at all.**

"**You need to speak up," I say after receiving no response from her. "I know you have an interest in Peds and Peds is hardcore. You need to be an advocate for your patient, even more than any other specialty. When you go into that patient's room or the OR you can't let people walk over you or ignore what you're saying. They might not even hear it. Because what you have to say may save that child's life. So, Andy you need to speak up and ask for the same respect your fellow residents do. That is my advice."**

**I glance over at Dr. Davis to find a bashful smile crosses her face that she is attempting to hide. "Thank you." She replies; her voice is now stronger, it's not quite as loud as I'd like it but much more firm and articulate. **

"**That's better," I say with a classic dimpled smile. This prompts a small chuckle from her as well. "We're still going to have to work on it, but it's better all the same. So where were we?" **

"**Patient History, Dr. Robbins." I'm pleasantly surprised to hear that Dr. Davis' voice is once again louder, coming quite close to the level of my own voice.**

"**Yes, that. So what do you have Dr. Davis?" **

"**Pete Bishop, age nine. He- "**

* * *

"_Mark?" I ask as I place a hopefully comforting hand on his shoulder. I don't receive and verbal response from him. His body continues to shake slightly under my touch. I let go and take hold of his empty clammy hand._

_My brother had just told me everything that had been invading his mind for the past eight months. Mark had completely shocked me with everything, I was amazed he was able to keep it all in that long._

_I can feel Jess' hold on my own hand tighten slightly. I know that she's unsure of what to do. I glance up at her to find her eyes slightly widened but still as kind as ever. "Mark?" She attempts at getting my brother to respond as well._

"_I-I knew." He says, slowly looking up at us. "I knew and I didn't say anything. I wasn't a hundred percent sure until then and even when I was sure I didn't say anything. I-I didn't." His voice is gravelly due the slight dehydration of his throat from the sobbing._

"_Mark, it isn't easy to say. It isn't easy to bring up in conversation. It isn't easy to tell someone something that can change their entire life as they know it. It just isn't." They are the only words I am able to say; the only words I can string together to make a comprehendible sentence._

"_Sure, it's not easy." He scoffs with a slight sniff. "But what's easy? The right thing never is, Rory." Mark's voice is raised and much clearer now; I can hear all the rage he's feeling in his voice._

"_Exactly, we're not taught how to deal with these things. We aren't born knowing how either." I respond, surprisingly I'm more sure of my words now as they flow freely from my mouth without much input from my brain._

"_Still," He says, "But we're still supposed to the right thing. It was right under my nose, right on the tip of my tongue. It was close enough for me to something about it but I never did." My brother's usual calm personality has gone completely out the window, there's not even a sliver of him left. His face is now blood red in anger and his voice raised even more than before._

"_Mark, you can't always do the right thing. If you did then you'd be perfect and nobody is." Jess startlingly takes this as her opportunity to cut in._

_The redness is slowly escaping his face. My brother looks up at her and opens his mouth to speak. He closes almost at once. He doesn't say anything for a moment, he simply exchanges glances with my girlfriend before looking to me, then back to her once again. _

"_I'm not trying to be perfect. I'm trying to do what's perfect for her." I can tell by look in my brother's eye he means every word. I knew that Emma was never a joke or simple teenage crush to him but it wasn't until now I truly understood._

_I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out; I don't say a single word because I know whatever I say could never validate what my brother has said. As I close my mouth once again I feel Jess squeeze my hand reassuringly before she speaks up, a wide grin crossing her face that makes butterflies flicker through my stomach._

"_In that case, let's get to work on that then, shall we?"_


	4. Alert! Author's Note

Hey guys, unfortunately this isn't the next chapter y'all were hoping for. I've realized that after writing my previous chapter, which was absolutely terrible and I apologize for, that my brain is really struggle to put this story into words. I find myself feeling that I am ruining this story by continuing to write it just because I feel like **I** **have** to. I hope you guys understand that and the fact that it will be on hiatus until further notice. I may write a few one shots or drabbles to keep myself creatively active but this story will not be updated again until I believe I'm ready and that I can do a good job with it. **I apologize** for the inconvenience and disappointment. **I hope** you all understand.

**Thank you for all your support so far,**

Color!


End file.
